1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to devices for reminding a person when to take medication, and more particularly to a medication management system for tracking a patient's medication administration schedule, reminding the patient to take medication, and warning the patient of contraindications between multiple medications.
2. Description of the Related Art
When medication is prescribed, a patient often fails to adhere to the administration and dosage instructions specified for the medication. As a result of busy schedules and other distractions, it is not difficult for a patient to forget the specific time that the medication is to be taken or simply lose track of time and forget to take the medication. The patient may either skips a dose altogether or take a dosage outside of the prescribed time interval. This can lead to a variety of pharmacological and/or toxicological problems to the patient which, ultimately, may result in ineffective treatment of a disease and/or harm to the patient.
In addition, patients who are required to take several different medications during the course of a day may become confused with the frequency and particular medication that needs to be taken at a particular time, also resulting in the above-stated problems. These problems may be exacerbated when the patient is busy, has a failing memory, impaired vision, or is incoherent due to the illness or effects of the medication. Many patients carry written "timetables" with them, often with actual pills taped to then, to help them take their medications. If they should forget to look at the timetable, however, it would result in the patient missing one or more medications.
Another, and very serious problem, with multiple medications taken by a patient is the possibility of adverse effects, or contraindications, among medications that are taken together or at improper intervals. It is possible that contraindications could be overlooked, particularly if a patient has multiple health care providers and forgets to give each health care provider complete information about other prescribed medications.
There are devices which provide various means for alerting a patient when and what medication should be taken. However, none of the devices allow input and storage of a patient's medication information, contraindication tables, use times and medical history information, and the display and annunciation of use times and medical contraindications.
Therefore, a need exists for a portable medication storage and reminder apparatus with the capability for the input of a patient's medication information, contraindication tables, use times and medical history information; and for the display and annunciation of use times and medical contraindication. The present invention satisfies those needs, as well as others, and overcomes the deficiencies found in prior technology.